Learning from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: Comparing policy responses in Uruguay with 10 other Latin American and Caribbean countries

Victoria Haldane; Mariana Morales-Vazquez; Margaret Jamieson; Jeremy Veillard; Gregory P Marchildon; Sara Allin

doi:10.1016/j.hpopen.2022.100081

Learning from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: Comparing policy responses in Uruguay with 10 other Latin American and Caribbean countries

Health Policy Open. 2022 Dec:3:100081. doi: 10.1016/j.hpopen.2022.100081. Epub 2022 Nov 14.

Authors

Victoria Haldane¹, Mariana Morales-Vazquez¹, Margaret Jamieson¹, Jeremy Veillard^{1

2}, Gregory P Marchildon¹, Sara Allin¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 155 College St., Toronto, ON M5T 3M6, Canada.
² World Bank, Health, Nutrition and Population, Washington, DC, USA.

Abstract

A range of public health and social measures have been employed in response to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Yet, pandemic responses have varied across the region, particularly during the first 6 months of the pandemic, with Uruguay effectively limiting transmission during this crucial phase. This review describes features of pandemic responses which may have contributed to Uruguay's early success relative to 10 other LAC countries - Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago. Uruguay differentiated its early response efforts from reviewed countries by foregoing strict border closures and restrictions on movement, and rapidly implementing a suite of economic and social measures. Our findings describe the importance of supporting adherence to public health interventions by ensuring that effective social and economic safety net measures are in place to permit compliance with public health measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; Latin America & the Caribbean, pandemic response; Policy review.

Publication types

Review